The fifth edition of the African Financial Industry Barometer, produced by Deloitte and the Africa Financial Summit – AFIS, is based on a survey conducted between May and September 2025 among executives from more than 70 institutions (banks, insurance companies, fintechs, microfinance institutions, and capital market players) across the continent.

The findings are clear: the sector is returning to fundamentals and making profitability, cybersecurity, and operational efficiency the new pillars of its development model.

Confidence at an all-time high, boosted by disinflation

In 2025, executives rate their organization’s three-year economic outlook at 8/10, up 0.72 points from 2024, with 74% optimistic and only 4% pessimistic.

This renewed confidence is driven by easing inflation, improved operational visibility, and sustained commercial momentum.

Microfinance institutions show the highest level at of 9/10, ahead of insurance companies (8.35/10), while fintechs are normalising their expectations to 8.33/10 after peaking at 9.25/10 in 2024.

Pan-African groups report strong confidence (8.44/10), while international players (7.82/10) and capital market players (7.5/10) remain more cautious amid prolonged volatility.

A renewed focus on profitability and operational efficiency

In 2025, profitability emerged as a strategic priority for 46% of institutions surveyed, signaling a transition to maturity after several years of sustained expansion.

Three levers now dominate transformation plans: financial performance (84%), customer experience (85%), and digital transformation (81%), all up from 2024.

This strategic shift is reflected in improved fundamentals: net operating margin is up for 69% of players, return on equity (ROE) for 57%, and return on assets (ROA) for 58%, despite persistent pressure on asset quality and risk costs.

However, operational efficiency declined by 6 points to 54%, illustrating the growing complexity of cost control (talent, technology, compliance) in a more constrained environment.

Cybersecurity: from technical issue to systemic risk

58% of institutions report a high or very high level of exposure to strategic and regulatory risks. At the same time, 51% rank cybersecurity among their main concerns, compared to 39% in 2024.

In terms of regulatory priorities, cybersecurity tops the list of expectations for 97% of respondents, ahead of digital identification (92%) and combating illicit financial flows (87%, +18 points compared to 2024).

While 65–70% of institutions have fully operational prevention, detection, and response systems, the Barometer highlights a gap: investments have focused heavily on detection, but response and remediation capabilities remain limited. The shift from real-time identification to true resilience is the sector’s next challenge.

Digital and AI: from competitive advantage to business prerequisite

54% of institutions surveyed now consider themselves digitally mature, up 6 points from 2024. Fintechs remain at the forefront (67% in the “Leaders” category), but insurers have made the most significant progress: 59% are now in advanced positions (12% Leaders, 47% Potentials), up 19 points from 2024.

Artificial intelligence is primarily viewed as a risk management lever: 77% of institutions anticipate strong or transformative AI impact on fraud detection, 70% on credit risk analysis, and 70% on process optimisation.

Personalisation of offers (72%) and chatbots (68%) round out the leading use cases, combining operational efficiency with commercial expansion.

Continental integration: interoperability accelerates, PAPSS confirms its potential

PAPSS stands out as the most operational continental integration initiative: 35% of institutions rate it as highly operational (+15 points vs. 2024), citing measurable gains in cost reduction (25%) and faster settlement times (23%) for intra-African payments.

Payment system interoperability is identified as the top transformation priority by 2030 by 28% of respondents, driven by the ambition to connect 1.6 billion accounts (banking and mobile money combined).

Financial inclusion and ESG: from declarative logic to a pragmatic approach

Financial inclusion is a strategic pillar for 39% of institutions, led by microfinance institutions (100%) and fintechs (67%), while insurers are actively repositioning in underpenetrated segments through partnerships with telecom operators and microfinance institutions.

On ESG, the Barometer reveals a phase of pragmatic engagement: impact investing remains the most structured dimension (66% engagement), while ESG criteria integration has declined to 57% as institutions focus on areas with rapidly measurable impact.

Gender parity is advancing significantly: 47% of institutions have implemented team parity policies and 44% have dedicated reporting on gender indicators

“The African financial sector has entered a phase of maturity. Confidence is high, fundamentals are strengthening, and continental integration is becoming a reality. The remaining challenges cybersecurity, data quality and availability, interoperability, are those of an ecosystem being built, not defended. The ongoing consolidation is paving the way for stronger, more sustainable, and decidedly more inclusive growth,”Ambroise Depouilly, managing partner, Deloitte Francophone Africa.

“This Barometer highlights a very clear return to fundamentals in the African financial industry. Faced with a more constrained environment, executives are refocusing their priorities on financial performance and operational efficiency, which are once again becoming the sector’s true strategic compass,” Frédéric Maury, deputy CEO Event, Jeune Afrique Media Group.

The full 2025 Barometer is here.

This innovative platform leverages Meta’s Llama Open Source model and other cutting-edge AI technologies to provide MSMEs with the tools they need to thrive in today’s competitive market and begin to address obstacles they face such as limited access to finance, difficulties in navigating markets, and inadequate tailored advisory support.

AKILI AI aims to empower African MSMEs by unlocking their full potential and driving inclusive growth and sustainable development across the continent. It demonstrates the transformative power of Meta’s Llama model and other AI technologies in addressing the challenges faced by MSMEs, fostering partnerships and collaboration with key stakeholders, including governments, development partners, and international organizations, to support the platform’s scalability and impact.

AUDA-NEPAD CEO Ms Nardos Bekele-Thomas said,  “The launch of AKILI AI marks a significant milestone in our journey towards empowering African entrepreneurs. By leveraging AI, we are providing MSMEs with the tools they need to overcome challenges and drive sustainable development. This platform is a testament to our commitment to innovation and inclusive growth.”

“We are also thrilled to partner with META and Deloitte on this transformative initiative. AKILI AI showcases the potential of Meta’s Llama model to address real-world challenges faced by MSMEs. We believe this platform will be a catalyst for positive socio-economic change across Africa, concluded Bekele-Thomas”.

Speaking about the launch, Kojo Boakye, Vice President of Public Policy, Africa, Middle East and Türkiye Meta said, “The launch of AKILI AI marks a significant milestone in our mission to democratize access to cutting-edge technology and unlock Africa’s entrepreneurial potential. Leveraging the power of Meta’s Llama Open Source AI model, we are equipping Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with the tools and resources necessary to drive innovation, create jobs, and build a more inclusive and prosperous future for all Africans.

“This partnership demonstrates the transformative impact that can be achieved through collaborative efforts between governments, the private sector, and civil society in addressing the continent’s most pressing challenges and seizing its many opportunities.”

The leading insurance company also shortlisted its top 15 semi-finalists for its third edition of the Essay Championship. The top 15 participants emerged from a competitive pool of nearly 5,000 entries from Junior Secondary School students across Nigeria.

Speaking about the meticulous approach used in selecting the finalists, the company noted, “All entries underwent a rigorous grading process by renowned academics, focusing on originality, depth of analysis, and clarity of thought. Furthermore, Deloitte & Touche, a leading audit and quality assurance firm, independently reviewed the grading process to ensure objectivity.”

“Out of the shortlisted participants, three students will proceed to the grand finale for a concluding presentation on an all-expense-paid trip sponsored by Heirs Insurance Group, which will take place at Transcorp Hilton Abuja in September. Winners of the Heirs Insurance Essay Championship will receive a combined scholarship of ₦8 million, with the final winner’s school receiving an additional ₦1 million donation.”

The Heirs Insurance Essay Championship is part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts of the group, aimed at improving the quality of education for the next generation. The championship also highlights emerging talent while bringing parents and children closer to insurance through extended workshops on financial security.

This year’s competition saw creative entries from 35 states across the country, in response to the essay topic “If I Could Invent Something New.” In appreciation of the creative submissions, all participating students will receive a certificate of participation.

Heirs Insurance Group is the insurance arm of Heirs Holdings, the leading pan-African investment company with investments across 24 countries and four continents, founded and led by Tony Elumelu. Heirs Insurance Group is championing financial inclusion and leading the digital insurance space in Nigeria, demonstrating its mission to democratize access to insurance. As part of its unique proposition, the group has rolled out digital and mobile channels to simplify access to insurance and make it accessible to everyone.

Under the plan, Deloitte’s main business units will be cut to four — audit and assurance; strategy, risk and transactions; technology and transformation; and tax and legal — from the five the firm has had since 2014.

The reorganisation will reduce costs across the firm, said one person familiar with the plan, but added that a figure had not yet been put on the savings.

Joe Ucuzoglu, Deloitte’s global chief executive is spearheading the shake-up that will take a year to implement across the more than 150 countries the firm operates in.

In an email sent to Deloitte’s partners on Monday, Ucuzoglu said the plan would reduce the firm’s “complexity” and “free up” more of them to work with clients rather than manage staff internally. Deloitte employs about 455,000 people globally.

Deloitte’s global revenues increased 15 per cent to $65bn in its last financial year, cementing its position as the largest of the Big Four. But after several years of rapid growth, Deloitte, EY, PwC and KPMG are braced for a tougher 12 months as a difficult economic backdrop in key markets prompts companies to cut spending.

The UK consulting market will fail to grow this year for the first time since 2020, according to a new report, which includes input from the Big Four.

The move by Ucuzoglu comes after he last year rejected the possibility of separating its audit and consulting businesses and publicly dismissed the logic of doing so. Rival EY spent more than a year trying to engineer a break-up of the firm before abandoning the attempt in April last year.

In contrast to a typical multinational company, the Big Four are run as a worldwide network of partnerships linked through a global entity that sets the strategy. The global business is funded by fees paid by the local member firms.

The complex structure can make reorganisations fraught with difficulty as partners compete for influence. The reorganisation was “a fairly divisive topic internally”, said one former Deloitte partner.

As part of the changes, Deloitte’s advisory businesses, which advise companies on everything from technology to dealmaking and also includes its tax and legal unit, will be cut to three divisions from four. Its audit and assurance arm will remain as a standalone unit.

Deloitte’s consulting, financial advisory and risk advisory divisions will be brought into two newly created business units: strategy, risk and transactions; and technology and transformation.

The former will house Deloitte’s mergers and acquisitions advisory services that has struggled amid a drought in dealmaking. The technology and transformation unit will bring together its “digital transformation” services, including engineering, artificial intelligence, data and cyber, according to the email to partners, a copy of which was seen by the Financial Times.

In an attempt to eliminate silos, some staff will be transferred to an expanded audit and assurance arm, including those working on environmental, social and governance.

Tax and legal will remain a standalone business within the new structure as Deloitte tries to wring benefits from the decision to keep its audit and consulting businesses together.

EY’s break-up plan collapsed because its leaders could not agree on how the tax practice should be divided between the two halves of the business. PwC, meanwhile, has split tax between its advisory and assurance businesses in the US.

“While some others in the market are looking to break this function apart,” Ucuzoglu wrote to partners, “we believe that our fully integrated suite of tax and legal capabilities is a significant source of strength and differentiation and aligns with the needs of our clients.”

The new structure is expected to be in place by June 2025, with member firms starting to implement it as soon as June, according to the email to partners.

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Expert in Nigeria’s financial sector have attributed the recent debacle around the Foreign Exchange (Forex) market to the infractions under Godwin Emifele led administration of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The Duo of Dr. Wunmi, a securities and Financial Regulation Law expert, and Tajudeen of Wyoming Capital and Partners bared their mind in a chat with Techeconomy on the recent unfolding in the Nigeria Apex Bank.

According to Dr. Wunmi Bewaji, described it as sad news that the snippets and other discoveries about the nation’s import regime, is riddle with false claims, and most of the so called backlog cannot be backed-up with documents, neither can it be verified and everybody knows this.

The Leeds Trained Scholar said, the discovery of the $2.4billion false claim by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is predicated on the forensic audit by Deloitte, which has not been disputed.

This means that the discovery is genuine; the implication of this is that, it confirms what everybody had insinuated all along that the import regime in Nigeria has been criminalized for a very long time, especially under the last CBN administration of Godwin Emefile, he said.

On Monday, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in an interview with ARISE NEWS, disclosed that the bank had settled verified FX requests, which amounted to $2.3 billion.

He said about $2.4 billion out of the reported $7 billion outstanding foreign exchange liabilities of the federal government are not valid for settlement.

According to him the current total outstanding FX obligations stood at $2.2 billion. Cardoso further indicated that part of the headline $7 billion outstanding FX claims were fraudulent, citing the outcome of a forensic audit by Deloitte Management Consultant, which was commissioned by the apex bank.

In swift reaction, Mr. Tajudeen Olayinka, said the current leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) appears to be diligent in executing its core mandates and this portray a great saving and relief to official foreign reserves.

According to him, “The decision to invalidate $2.6billion FX backlogs from $7.6billion initial claims came from forensic audit, and the affected applicants couldn’t come up with evidence to counter the audit position, it means the current leadership and management of CBN is prepared to be diligent in executing their core mandates.

“This is a great saving and relief to official foreign reserves. It also means that CBN will be able to address the liquidity challenge in the foreign exchange market early enough.

“I think we should thank Cardoso and his team for being steadfast in this respect. A lot of unthinkable things happened under Godwin Emefiele leadership. The foreign investors will now begin to develop confidence in our markets. It is a confidence booster.

Earlier, the International Air Transport Association lauded the CBN for the latest payment of part of the trapped funds but stressed that over $700m was still trapped in the country.

While describing the $64.44m disbursement as a welcome development, IATA maintained that approximately $700m was still unpaid.

While underscoring the importance of the need for the Apex Bank to lead by examples, Wunmi said, the Central Bank of Nigeria should publish necessary documents which it has not published for over 7years.

He was however quick to remind CBN to bring the instrument of the law to bear on the victims of spurious claims to deter subsequent violation.

He said “of great importance is the place of continuous disclosure in corporate governance. There is a reason why the law made the space for the annual audit of corporate governance and you know for a very long time the CBN has failed to publish its books.

“So this should never happen again, for almost 7 to 9 years, the CBN was never audited. So an organisation like the CBN that should lead by the example is the one that violating the law for that length of time.  So going forward, we should as a matter of Policy, make it mandatory, of course it is required by the law.  The CBN should lead by example and ought to publish its audit annually. This will save us from this sort of problems in the future

“This issue should not be treated in the CBN business as usual manner. This is fraud we are talking about.  Crime has been committed as a result and I will say that people that made these false claims ought to be prosecuted and made to face the full wrath of the law so as to discourage such kind of criminal conduct in the future. The people involved in this making of false claims ought to be prosecuted and the full weight of the law ought to be brought upon them

“I should also add that, this discovery also revealed to us that the pressure on the Naira is artificial. It’s nothing but false pressure.  What this means is that the Naira is grossly undervalued.

This could be in the form of a new product, strategy, service, or communication method. Whatever it is that you bring to the table, it should have the ability to provide value and fuel growth for your business.

In actual sense, business is christened at the birth of innovation that is creating new products, services markets or updating something known so it is exciting again.

It is important to note that the 21st century and beyond is a technological driven century, making technology companies triggering a paradigm shift by impacting industries.

For instance, Apple changes music and consumer electronics, Uber is changing the taxi business, while Airbnb and Amazon are changing the accommodation industry cum retailing.

Progressively, Software is a collection of programs and data that tell a computer how to perform specific tasks. Software often includes associated software documentation.

This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.  A perfect understanding of the interrelationship of the above therefore calls for attention.

We present below software trends business innovators need to know.

1. Blockchain Technology  

Every serious business owner must make it a priority to understand how to successfully navigate Blockchain technology. Blockchain technology is an advanced database mechanism that allows transparent information sharing within a business network. It stores data in blocks that are linked together in a chain.

The data is chronologically consistent because you cannot delete or modify the chain without consensus from the network.

As a result, you can use blockchain technology to create an unalterable or immutable ledger for tracking orders, payments, accounts, and other transactions.

The system has built-in mechanisms that prevent unauthorized transaction entries and create consistency in the shared view of these transactions.  Blockchain technology is used in Energy, Finance, Media, entertainment.

2. Artificial Intelligence

AI has evolved from an esoteric research topic—with its origins six decades ago in corporate and academic computer science labs—into a collection of powerful technologies with mainstream business promise and applicability.

According to Deloitte’s global AI study, organizations adopting AI, more than eight in 10 leaders see AI as “very” or “critically” important to their business success in the next two years.1 AI adoption and spending are surging globally.

According to one report, 37 percent of organizations have now deployed AI—a 270 percent increase from four years ago. Analysts project global spending on AI to top US$35 billion in 2019 and more than double to US$79.2 billion by 2022. Business owner must therefore of necessity take this seriously.

Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. Specific applications of AI include expert systems, natural language processing, speech recognition and machine vision.

The Grand View Research, the global artificial intelligence (AI) market was valued at U.S. $93.5 billion back in 2021.

From 2022 to 2030, the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.1%. This growth can largely be attributed to the “continuous research and innovation directed by the tech giants who are driving the adoption of advanced technologies in industry verticals, such as automotive, healthcare, retail, finance and manufacturing.”

AI is a powerful tool for improving operational efficiency, enhancing customer experiences, and generating valuable insights. Companies that successfully leverage AI technology can gain a significant competitive advantage, streamlining their operations and driving growth.

In general, AI systems work by ingesting large amounts of labeled training data, analyzing the data for New, rapidly improving generative AI techniques can create realistic text, images, music and other media.

3. Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) describes the network of physical objects—things”—that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the internet.

These devices range from ordinary household objects to sophisticated industrial tools. With more than 7 billion connected IoT devices today, experts are expecting this number to grow to 10 billion by 2020 and 22 billion by 2025.

The importance of IOT, cannot be overemphasized, this includes but not limited to continuous customer interaction, Perception & Data Sharing, Accessibility, reliability, and efficiency, and Delivering of Insights in Real-Time

4. Cybersecurity

Cyber security refers to every aspect of protecting an organization and its employees and assets against cyber threats. As cyberattacks become more common and sophisticated, corporate networks also grow more complex, a variety of cyber security solutions are required to mitigate corporate cyber risk.

Business owners must understand the workings of cyber security, which of courses is safeguarding individuals and organizations against cyberattacks and theft or loss of sensitive and confidential information.

Cybersecurity can also monitor systems to protect personal data, protect yourself against fraud and online assaults.

The truth remains, that more than ever, merchants are creating and/or improving their ecommerce businesses to meet customers where they are. While it may seem like everything in ecommerce is evolving, Business owners must pay attention to pro/con of cybersecurity.

5. Datafication

Datafication is a software trend turning many aspects of our life into data, which is subsequently transferred into information realized as a new form of value.

Kenneth Cukier and Viktor Mayer-Schonberger introduced the term datafication to the broader lexicon in 2013.

Up until this time; datafication had been associated with the analysis of representations of our lives captured through data, but not on the present scale. This change was primarily due to the impact of big data and the computational opportunities afforded to predictive analytics.

Businesses collect customer data from many different channels, including physical retail, e-commerce, and social media.

By using data analytics to create comprehensive customer profiles from this data, businesses can gain insights into customer behavior to provide a more personalized experience.

Enterprises can use data analytics to guide business decisions and minimize financial losses. Predictive analytics can suggest what could happen in response to changes to the business, and prescriptive analytics can indicate how the business should react to these changes.

Streamline operations and mitigate risk.

The championship was sponsored by CoinW, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, and brought together internationally famous fighters to provide fight fans with a blood-curdling feast for the senses.

After the competition, CoinW and Kunlun fight’s co-branded limited NFTs were officially launched on Opensea, setting off a rush of purchases by users. Up till now, there are only XX NFTs left in the limited collection of 999.

Collection of world-class fighting moments:

According to the official introduction by CoinW, the content of the NFT on sale is a collection of live moments of Kunlun Fight, including the famous Thai action actor and Asian international action star, Tony Jaa, WPMF Intercontinental Gold Belt, Muay Thai, WMO World Gold Belt,  Jérémy PAYET. The 8 world-class fighting champions were in action.

OpenSea is the first and the world’s largest NFT trading platform, which accounts for almost more than 97% of the NFT trading market share.

The choice of CoinW and Kunlun Fight co-branded NFTs for sale at Opensea also ensures the liquidity of these co-branded limited NFTs.

More importantly, these co-branded limited NFTs have been authorized by Kunlun Fight officials and the participants themselves, which can guarantee the value to a certain extent.

With this CoinW and Kunlun Fight co-branded NFT launch, sports fans can further engage with the crypto space on a more personal level. It puts cryptocurrency in front of millions of fans worldwide while bringing more exposure to both industries.

“NFT+Sports” is growing exponentially here exploration of “NFT+Sports” has already begun. At present, NFT has been widely used in various fields of the sports industry, and there are numerous sports organizations, enterprises, and stars who have entered the NFT space.

The NBA is perhaps the first institution in the competition. As early as 2019, the NBA launched the card collection game NBA TOP SHOT. Players only need to buy card packs, you can randomly get the NBA star’s game highlights of the card NFT.

After that, the soccer field of Sorare, UFC’s NFT UFC STRIKE, Formula 1’s Delta Time, and NFL’s NFL All Day, were launched one after another.

More and more top sports events are joining the NFT ranks. More sports stars are getting into NFT, which is not only a financial opportunity but also a fashion trend to play with.

NBA superstar, Stephen Curry launched the NFT Series 2974 last December, which sold out five minutes after it went on sale. English footballer David Beckham filed a trademark application for Metaverse and NFT on April 19, 2022.

Strong collaboration, opening a new chapter of cross-industry in-depth cooperation:

The naming the of Kunlun fight World Championship is also another initiative in the internationalization the of CoinW brand after the successful landing of the La Liga courtside advertisement.

One is Kunlun Fight, which leads the global fighting development trend with high-quality competition standards, and the other is CoinW, which is committed to leading the new trend crypto-assets industry.

The strong cooperation between two industry leaders opens a new chapter of cross-industry in-depth cooperation.

After successive heavy operations, CoinW has become one of the cryptocurrency brands actively participating in sports events based on global compliance operations.

As the exchange brand that first sponsored Kunlun Fight, CoinW, which was established in 2017, has been deeply engaged in the crypto industry for many years early and is well known for its reputation.

It has more than 30 self-researched security and risk control measures, and also cooperates with Knowtronics, Ari,yun, and Amazon, with a total of more than 100 security and risk control measures.

Through strict technical standards and multiple risk control system support, it provides professional, s, safe and stable digital asset trading services for global users.

In addition, CoinW also cooperates with Hyper pay, a multi-ecological digital asset wallet, to build the HyperLab digital wallet security lab, which is dedicated to developing various security frontier technologies for digital wallets to guarantee the comprehensive security of platform funds and user funds.

The “NFT+Sports” trend has also attracted the attention of Deloitte and PwC, the world’s top four management consulting firms.

In its Sports Industry Insight Report released in March this year, PwC pointed out that the hottest trends in the sports industry in 2022 will revolve around NFT.

Deloitte, on the other hand, said in its forecast report in March this year that sports NFT will exceed $2 billion in total sales in 2022. By the end of 2022, the crypto-collectibles audience is expected to increase by 5 million.

The essence of competitive sports is competition. Athletes continue to surpass themselves and present a wonderful scene, and these wonderful moments deserve to be remembered by history.

Casting the wonderful moments into NFT, sports fans can collect them forever and bring more business opportunities to the event, and it is foreseeable that the connection between top sports events and NFT will be more common in the future.

[NB: Promoted Content]